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St Helen's is a central London church, many of our congregation have been affected by the riots. We spent our midweek meeting thinking about how should Christians respond to the London riots.

It's concerning times for us in the UK. I wonder how you're feeling about the riots? Some of us are annoyed and angry others are worried or scared. In one way or another we've all been affected by the unusual and scary events of the last few days.

Charlie Skrine asked the question ‘how should we feel about the riots?’ and pointed us to Psalm 121 to see three things that will help during these times:

  • The LORD is still in control v1. The psalmist asks where does his help come from in the time of trouble, when he is worried and scared. It’s a great question to ask in times of trouble, where do we look when things go wrong? Often we look to our own strength, ability or wisdom. We place our security in money, or the police, or work. However we need to be more like the psalmist.
  • The LORD is our helper and keeper v2&5. The psalmist looks to the LORD, the one who made heaven and earth. The one who is in control and is our helper. The one who is our keeper and our shade. When life gets fearful and worrying we need to turn to the LORD, the maker of the universe for our help and security. We need to trust that he is in control and that he is able to protect and care for us. And look why we can trust in the LORD for protection.
  • The LORD doesn't sleep v4. Unlike all our other idols (things we love and trust in) the LORD doesn’t sleep. In fact he is the only one that can keep and protect us. That’s exactly what the psalmist says in v6-8.